Fiji time

After the whirlwind of the week around the wedding, we headed off to Fiji for our honeymoon. Our trip was booked 6 months in advance, and thank goodness for the (accidental) foresight. We had months of dealing with wedding preparations and the minutiae that seems to come with it, from deciding on the colour of the ribbon on the cake, to the types of lollies for the lolly bags for the kiddies (sorry to those parents who then had hyperactive littles running around), and on top of that the last three weeks balancing work and catching up with family members who had come from overseas for our wedding and hoping they are having a good time. After all that, I was ready for a rest. REST.

Fiji gave us just that. From the time we arrived at the airport, and were ushered to our coach, which dropped us at the Outrigger on the Lagoon Resort , we hardly had to exercise a brain cell. Or too many muscles. After checking in, a porter picked up our suitcase and drove us to our bure in a golf buggy, even though it was only 300m away. We spent the first afternoon eating room service sandwiches as we couldnt be bothered to go out to hunter-gather. We spent most of the next day lazing by the pool. The most strenous thing I did on day 2 was a scuba lesson in the pool.

On our third day, we headed out on day trip to an island. Even that was easy, we were picked up from the hotel lobby, dropped at the jetty and ferried to an island where we snorkelled, lazed about and later opted to have a massage on the beach. Later in the week, we were interested in learning a little about village life. We asked at the front desk, and instructed to come to the hotel lobby at 10am the next day, at which time a minibus drove a small group of us to a nearby village. There a village elder showed us around, told us about the way of life ("Life is good, you can fish, you grow vegetables and we have Sky TV") and took us through a kava ceremony. Many of the villagers were employed at the Outrigger.

Activities on the resort were anticipated, pre-organised and set up to be easy so you could do whatever you wanted. You could choose from taking part in volleyball matches, water polo games, yoga, meditation, or head out to the lagoon and snorkel or kayak.

On a couple of days we ventured out of the resort, to check out Sigatoka and get some fruit from the market (we bought and ate our fill of bananas and papayas). But on the whole it was easy to spend days relaxing in the resort, pottering in our bure, reading by the pool, relaxing in the hammock, then sitting in a deckchair and contemplating the ocean.

I think I'm sold on the resort holiday. You wouldnt do it if you wanted to see a lot of sights, or feel proud of the fact that you're an intrepid traveller, but you would do it to rest and recharge, and I guess, to indulge. And I think Sydneysiders could learn something about relaxation from the Fijians.

23 sleeps to Christmas

 

We made an Advent Calendar to count down the days..... A mixture of charity, romantic, and Christmas traditions.

Safari

We spent four days in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

"Amazing" doesn't begin to describe it. We saw lions, girafees, elephants, babboons and a whole range of other animals at close distance. Spotting game in their natural environment is such a different experience to seeing them in captivity.



I liked the giraffes the best.


This lioness was lying on the road when we drove up to her. Behind her was the male. Both were unfazed by the traffic.

December wrap up ...... the month that was

Christmas has come and gone, and I am a little bit sad. I have a definite nostalgia for Christmas. I love the lead up to Christmas Day. Every year I put up the tree, and decorate (admittedly, in a rudimentary way). I walk around the stores and streets and admire the lights and decorations. I like the individual efforts of residents who put lights in the front of their homes.

It's only when I am in a hurry and trying to dash into the shops for bread and milk that I get annoyed at the season - the impossibly long queues and a shortage of parking. And I hear too many stories of people completely stressed out rushing about "getting ready", feeling obliged to max out their credit cards and excessively buy presents that are usually not needed by the receiver. (But enough said, this is hardly an original sentiment). Apart from the shopping side of things, I love the season for the memories I have as a child of great family Christmasses, and for the anticipation in the air and the goodwill that seems to be in greater supply this time of year.

Today I'll take the tree down, and I'm reflecting on the past two weeks.




Christmas Eve we had drinks at RM's place. R had organised a 9 litre magnum of champagne. The warm evening was a good backdrop for chilled champagne and sushi. As the evening went on, more and more bottles appeared and everyone got a little more mellow over time.

Christmas Day itself was lovely. It was a fairly quiet one in the morning as J and I opened presents in my apartment. But the day rapidly became more festive with a visit to the cousins in the afternoon for a late lunch.

My relatives are fantastic cooks, and surprise, surprise, there was an abundance of food. While we had traditional Aussie Christmas fare like prawns and ham, we also enjoyed chicken curry, glutinous rice with mushroom, fried rice, a Spanish dish with mince and eggs and a whole host of other delights.

On Boxing Day, J and I went to Mosman to see the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. We had a favourite picked, and periodically checked on her progress on the Yachtracker on the internet.

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Last Saturday, J and I went kayaking in Bundeena, a suburb about an hour south of Sydney and part of the Royal National Park. There were too many speedboats and jetskis for our liking (probably because of the holiday period) but otherwise a nice spot. We hired my kayak for 4-5 hours, but after about 3 hours as we were making our way back, the wind came up against us. So what was meant to be a leisurely paddle became very hard work, especially for me in my rented kayak that was shaped more like a bathtub. I was well and truly worn out at the end of the day!

APEC Stunt

Well, true to form, the boys from the Chasers War on Everything delivered. As a stunt, they dressed a motorcade with Canadian flags, and infiltrated the restricted area in the CBD locked down as part of the APEC security, getting past at least one police checkpoint. Julian Morrow was dressed as a security agent, and Chas Licciardello was dressed as Osama bin Laden. Police superintendent Ken McKay said "it wasn't funny". On the contrary, Ken, its hilarious. I chuckled all the way home. Good on you, boys.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/apec/chaser-team-charged/2007/09/06/1188783378804.html

Facebook

Had brunch with DR today (making use of my Monday off), and he extolled the virtues of Facebook. I'd been initiated into it a couple of weeks ago by BT, but not done much with it. So I went home today, and logged into my account and tweaked it. Now I think I may be hooked.

More Home Improvements

On Saturday, some blinds went up. And this time I succeeded in drilling and installing the brackets myself.

Home Improvements

Well, this month, the apartment has had a few adjustments, with the help of Mum and Dad providing some much-needed motivation and ideas. Uncle C came over and helped me put up a curtain rail and I replaced the vertical blinds in the bedroom with some nice blockout curtains, finally! A nice Ikea cabinet hides the shoes (Dad's suggestion, thanks Dad!)in the entrance and a few funky white wall shelves above the cabinet provide some extra places for photos to be displayed. The place is slowly coming together, with the help of Bunnings and Ikea - a homeowners' best friends.

Bridgeclimb!

Monday 13th August
I have often thought that the Sydney Harbour Bridgeclimb was a very touristy thing to do. But as J's parents are visiting, and his mother, H, really wanted to climb our city's iconic metal structure, I decided I'd come along. The three of us were booked in for the 10.55am tour on Monday morning, and were there bright and early in anticipation. While H was more worried about the climbing aspect, I was apprehensive about not being able to go to the bathroom for 3 and a half hours, and took precautions - I didn't drink for a couple of hours before. J was relaxed and looking forward to it.

An hour long safety briefing (including getting us kitted in our grey jumpsuits with everything (fleece, glasses etc attached to us). Then we were out and onto the bridge. Our climb leader, Matt was friendly and helpful. No one was rushed along, which was good as after a while, our legs felt the toll of all the climbing. Lots of photo ops. But they don't let you bring your own camera. Matt took pictures of us in at various points, designed to allow for a variety of backdrops. All in all, we enjoyed fantastic views, and the experience of being on top of the city, made it an entirely worthwhile expedition, even for resident Sydneysiders!

The Meeting

Tuesday 7th May
Well, so tonight the two sets of parents met, over tender steaks (wagyu beef, and Angus rump steaks) in Kingsleys Steakhouse in Lime St. Great food, and attentive service. A decent drop of wine too. The views of Darling Harbour were a bonus. The two mothers talked at length about travel experiences, while the two dads were quieter and tucked into their meals. The evening passed without awkward silences, no one brought up taboo subjects and neither mother disclosed embarrassing childhood stories of their respective offspring. So all in all, a pleasant and successful evening. Whew!